The Missouri State women’s basketball squad battled a hot-shooting Evansville team down to the wire Monday evening only to come up on the short end of a 82-72 decision at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind.
With Evansville leading 73-71, Robyn Jennings knocked down a 15-foot jumper with 2:44 left to play, then splashed home a three-pointer on the Purple Aces next possession to extend the advantage to 78-71. After a Tahnee Balerio free throw, Rebekah Parker’s running one-hander sealed the victory with just under a minute to play.
A balanced Purple Aces squad had an answer nearly every time Missouri State threatened its lead in the second half. Led by Parker’s 17 points, five Evansville players finished in double-figures, including junior forward Laura Gaybrick and sophomore guard Ashley Austin, who came through with clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch. Evansville connected on 17-of-33 field goal attempts in the second half and outscored the Lady Bears 9-1 over the final three minutes of the game to pull out a hard-fought win and improve to 2-0 in conference play.
The victory for UE did not come without a fight. Five Missouri State freshman carried the offensive load early in the contest, as the Lady Bears rebounded from sub-par shooting performances in their last two games to knock down five three pointers in the opening half.
Melissa Busby got things started with treys on back-to-back possessions to put Missouri State on top 8-5, just three minutes into the contest. Fellow freshman Erica Biel got into the act at the 12:51 mark, draining her first three since the second game of the season, and Roxy Stiles' long-range jumper with 9:30 remaining in the half gave the Lady Bears their largest lead of the game at 20-13.
Evansville answered with buckets on its next two possessions to trim the margin to two points, as Jennings completed a conventional three-point play before Ashli Senff’s 12-footer made it a 20-18 ballgame. Parker picked off a pass and drove the length of the court for a game-tying lay up, then knocked down a three to give the Purple Aces their first lead since the 17:27 mark.
After Evansville extended the lead to 27-24, another Missouri State freshman came through with a big shot, as Taylor Silas buried a three-pointer to even the score once again. The Lady Bears trailed just 33-31 at the break despite committing 15 turnovers.
In the opening minutes of the second half, the Purple Aces outscored the Lady Bears 11-2 over a two-minute span to extend their lead to 48-41. However, Missouri State answered with a 7-0 run of its own, drawing even at 48-48 on Tiff Terwelp’s bucket with 13:32 left on the clock.
After Evansville pushed its lead to 11 points on an Austin free throw with 7:27 remaining, Balerio keyed a 16-5 spurt with three treys over the ensuing four minutes to draw the Lady Bears even at 71-71 with 3:38 to play.
But a Gaybrick layup and some solid defense down the stretch ignited the late rally and wrapped up the win for Evansville.
After being held scoreless in the opening half, Balerio scored 18 points in the second half to match Terwelp for game-high scoring honors.
The Lady Bears return to Hammons Student Center next Sunday, Jan. 7, for a 12 p.m. game with Wichita State.
